Mid-year budget: Gov’t spends over GH¢22b on public sector compensation in first half of 2025

The Government of Ghana spent over GH¢22.2 billion on public sector compensation between January and June 2025, representing a significant portion of its total expenditure, according to the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

This figure covers wages, salaries, and allowances for civil servants, teachers, health professionals, security services, and other public sector workers across government ministries, departments, and agencies.

“Compensation of Employees amounted to *GH¢22.2 billion* for the first half of 2025, representing 5.1 percent of GDP and 26.4 percent of total expenditure (including arrears clearance),” Dr. Forson disclosed in Parliament on July 24.

The figure marks a modest increase over the previous year, reflecting the government’s commitment to stabilizing public sector pay while keeping spending within the broader fiscal consolidation framework agreed under the IMF programme.

The 2025 compensation budget includes the full implementation of wage adjustments agreed upon in the 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreements with labour unions. It also supports newly recruited professionals in the education, health, and security sectors.

Dr. Forson reiterated that while the government remains committed to supporting fair wages for public sector workers, there is a pressing need to manage the public payroll sustainably.

“As part of our structural reforms, we will continue the nationwide payroll audit and migration to a centralized Human Resource Management System to eliminate ghost names and improve efficiency,” he said.

He added that reforms under the Public Sector Reform Strategy would also focus on performance-based promotions and digitization to reduce wage-related leakages.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry indicated that overall employment levels in the public sector have stabilized, and that new recruitments going forward will be aligned with critical service delivery needs and fiscal space.

Dr. Forson assured Parliament that the government would continue to engage labour unions in a fair and transparent manner, especially as discussions on the 2026 wage negotiations begin in the second half of this year.

“We value our public servants, but we must work together to ensure that compensation growth does not outpace revenues,” he emphasized.